Discuss your favorite fighters, the upcoming card or whatever's on your mind.
Link to rmma's Thick, Solid and Tight Meme Guide
Link to the Noob's Guide to MMA
How to obtain a custom flair:
place and lose a flair bet in the Friday thread
write a haiku or draw a MS Paint-style image for the sub
The rules for the drawing or haiku are simply that it must be a ridiculous MMA-related scenario. If you would like a custom flair, send a message to us with a link to your drawing and your flair request. We'll probably grant it.
Interested in modding? Please fill out the mod application found here. Do not leave a comment about this in the thread. You can send us modmail if you have questions.
Caio Borralho may have called out Dricus du Plessis following his UFC Vegas 96 win, but he expects the UFC middleweight title to change hands before he gets his shot at the belt.
“I got [Sean] Strickland winning this fight, maybe, because I think Strickland won the last one, but maybe he left a little bit inside the octagon that he could do a little bit more,” Borralho said Saturday at UFC Vegas 96’s post-fight press conference. “But MMA is crazy. I always bet against Dricus and he always wins, so I’m not betting on the next one.
“Let those guys kill themselves and I’m the next one [to challenge for the title].”
Du Plessis and Strickland are expected to meet in a rematch for the UFC middleweight title next following du Plessis’ successful title defense over Israel Adesanya at UFC 305. Du Plessis and Strickland previously met in January at UFC 293, where du Plessis stole away Strickland’s belt with a razor-thin split decision win.
Borralho, 31, has great interest in the outcome of that rematch following his victory over Jared Cannonier on Saturday night.
Borralho pushed his undefeated UFC record to 7-0 at UFC Vegas 96 by putting together the finest performance of his octagon career in his first UFC main event. Despite being known largely as a grappler, Borralho outstruck Cannonier in an all-standup affair and even nearly knocked out the one-time title challenger with a thunderous salvo of punches in the fifth round. The judges ultimately scored the bout unanimously in his favor (49-45, 49-45, 48-46), and Borralho left the UFC APEX proud of the statement he made to the division.
“I wasn’t there to grapple. I was there to bring fire and be comfortable in the danger, because Jared’s a very dangerous opponent,” Borralho said.
“My jab was was on point, my calf kicks were on point, and I just did the job. I almost got the finish. I think the ref should have finished it, should have stopped the fight [in the fifth round] because Jared was [hurt] very bad, but it is what it is. I’m very thankful to be there [for] 25 minutes with one of the best in the world — and tell me one guy that did that to Jared. Tell me. There’s no one that did that to Jared the way I did it.”
An integral member of Brazil’s fast-rising Fighting Nerds team, Borralho overcame a nasty cut below his right eye at UFC Vegas 96 to gut out a win in the final rounds. He said post-fight that he one day hopes to be compared to MMA legends like Georges St-Pierre and Jon Jones by being considered “one of the most intelligent guys that ever stepped into the octagon.” After gradually working his way up the UFC ladder since debuting with back-to-back appearances on the promotion’s Contender Series in 2021, Borralho believes he’s finally on the doorstep of proving that he and his team belong alongside MMA’s elite.
“I think [this win] takes me to one of the best in the world,” Borralho said. “Like, I’m top five right now. At least, I deserve a top-five spot on Tuesday. And I think I proved myself as one of the best in the division — that I can strike. That I cannot only grapple, I can strike. I have the grappling, I have the wrestling, I have the durability, I have the chin, I have the power.
“I think I showed everyone that tonight, and it’s just going to take me to my belt. The mantra of this training camp was to show the new champ arrived, and I think I showed that a little bit. If I’m not the next one [to fight for the title], at least when there’s a conversation about who’s the next one, my name is going to be around there. I know that.”
That being said, Borralho also made it clear that he’s not interested in slowing down. After racking up seven wins over his first 28 months under UFC contract, Borralho is more than happy to continue adding to his résumé while du Plessis and Strickland handle business.
“I want a title shot, that’s for sure, but I’m a company man,” Borralho said.
“Whoever Hunter [Campbell] and Dana [White] send me to fight, if they’re people above me or something like that, like the fight that I deserve, the fight that’s going to put me even more close to the belt, I’m going to take it, because I’m the company man.”
Adesanya is drawing big crowds wherever he goes in Nigeria, Africa even without a UFC belt around his waist.
Israel Adesanya didn’t get to bring his former UFC middleweight belt back to Nigeria, but the fans there don’t seem to mind.
Adesanya dropped a fourth round submission loss to Dricus Du Plessis in the main event of UFC 305 on August 17th, ending his title contention for the immediate future. Despite the loss, he didn’t cancel plans to return home to his home country of Nigeria, where we’re seeing lots of great social media posts featuring the African UFC star.
There’s one video from Lagos where “The Last Stylebender” visited a grocery store and is crowded by fans who followed him through the building. Another shows Izzy and his family singing at a church service. Both times, the area was reportedly swamped with fans the moment people found out Adesanya was nearby.
The people of Nigeria love Israel Adesanya He’s in Lagos right now and can’t go anywhere without shuttin the place down pic.twitter.com/6toqBkYF4m
— DJ MurkCity (@myrksitymma) August 25, 2024
Israel Adesanya & his family attended church in Nigeria this morning & afterwards chaos erupted when the locals realized he was in town
I saw @Super_Sodiq also touched down in Lagos I wonder if him & @stylebender will link up while they’re home : Adesanya.david | IG pic.twitter.com/Khg13kFH76
— DJ MurkCity (@myrksitymma) August 25, 2024
He also met up with fellow UFC fighter Sodiq Yusuff to attend a local boxing event. The crowd gave Adesanya a big round of approval as he talked up the up and coming talent from the region.
“Energy never dies, it can be passed on and amplified,” Adesanya wrote in a post featuring pictures and videos from the event. “Bless the future, bless my people, their flame inspired me!”
Israel Adesanya & Sodiq Yusuff link up together in Nigeria for a local boxing event
Copied directly from @Super_Sodiq IG [Much respect to @stylebender for coming through and touching the people. This meant a lot for the community. Almost shed a tear when I heard a lady in… pic.twitter.com/cHaAxKkhHn
— DJ MurkCity (@myrksitymma) August 25, 2024
‼️ Energy never dies, it can be passed on and amplified ❤️ .Bless the future, bless my people, their flame inspired me! pic.twitter.com/AmK2KBc1A5
— Israel Adesanya (@stylebender) August 25, 2024
He also shared some new information regarding his fight against Du Plessis, seeming to confirm something his former rival Alex Pereira guessed at in a recent video.
“We don’t talk about injuries, we don’t talk about problems,” Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “We are there, we want to fight, we want to win. No excuses. Maybe Adesanya had an injury, I don’t know. You could see he kicked very little. That inside leg kick of Adesanya is very good … he didn’t continue to do it … he is only throwing hands.”
“It’s weird how this guy knows me,” Adesanya wrote above a retweet of Pereira’s comments. “It’s like we’ve spent hours studying each other’s moves and fought multiple times or sumn’. I mean that.”
As of now there’s no hint as to what could be next for Israel Adesanya. Following the fight he confirmed he had no plans to retire, but also said he wasn’t planning on rushing back for another fight any time soon. But with his hometown crowd gassing him up so much, maybe we’ll hear something soon about the next time we can expect to see “The Last Stylebender” in the cage.
Wang Cong broke a record in her octagon debut at UFC Vegas 96 and now she’s getting a much deserved bonus for her efforts.
The Road to the UFC veteran made quite a splash in her first UFC fight after she demolished Victoria Leonardo with a brutal knockout just 62 seconds into the opening round. The rapid-fire knockout helped Wang earn the fastest finish for any debuting flyweight in UFC history and the second fastest knockout in the entire history of the UFC women’s flyweight division.
That’s why she was a little disappointed to learn that her stunning finish didn’t come along with a $ 50,000 bonus at the end of the night.
“Wake up and find out there is no [Performance of the Night],” Wang wrote on Instagram. “Next fight you will see more spectacular finish UFC. Don’t play with Joker again!”
While he wasn’t in attendance at the event at the UFC APEX on Saturday, White definitely caught up to watch the fights and he responded to Wang by informing her that she would get the $ 50,000 bonus she definitely deserved.
“I was out of town and watched the fight at Mystique Boston on TV,” White wrote to Wang. “You looked AMAZING. I’m adding another [Performance of the Night] bonus for you. Congrats you get $ 50K”
This isn’t the first time that White has decided to hand out a bonus when he wasn’t in the building to determine who gets the extra cash at the end of the night. Thankfully for Wang, the UFC CEO saw her handiwork and determined she definitely should have left with an extra $ 50,000 in her pocket.
The win moved Wang to 6-0 in her MMA career and she also boasts an impressive resume in kickboxing, which includes a 2015 win over former UFC champion Valentina Shevchenko.
A four-time foe of former two-time middleweight champion, Israel Adesanya, undisputed light heavyweight best, Alex Pereira has suggested the former may have been carrying an injury into his return at UFC 305 earlier this month — pointing to his kick-light approach to his fight with Dricus du Plessis.
Adesanya, a former undisputed middleweight champion twice under the banner of the promotion, headlined UFC 305 in Perth, Australia against bitter-rival, du Plessis — dropping his second consecutive loss for the first time in his mixed martial arts career.
Struggling with the pressure and timing of Pretoria native, du Plessis, Adesanya was stunned in the fourth round before he was swept off his feet with a takedown, and wrapped in a taut rear-naked choke — forced to tap and give up a middleweight title fight for the second bout in a row.
Alex Pereira shares thoughts on Israel Adesanya’s loss at UFC 305
And sharing his thoughts on the City Kickboxing staple’s performance, Pereira speculated that the Nigerian-Kiwi may have been harboring an injury ahead of his UFC 305 title fight with du Plessis — pointing to his kick-light display ‘Downunder.
“Of course, I don’t know how (Israel) Adesanya was,” Alex Pereira said on his YouTube channel. “When we are there, we don’t talk about injuries, don’t talk about problems. We are there. We want to fight, want to win — no excuses. Maybe Adesanya had an injury. You could see he kicked very little.”
“That inside kick of Adesanya’s is very good,” Alex Pereira explained. “Not everyone can do that, but he can do it very well. It was a good weapon and he didn’t continue doing that inside kick. Even Dricus (du Plessis) said it bothered him; it also bothered me. He didn’t continue to do it. When he is only throwing hands, I think it’s easier for the opponent to protect themselves or get out.”
The future appears to be bright for Caio Borralho after pulling off a decision win over Jared Cannonier in the main event of Saturday’s UFC Fight Night card at the Apex.
The two had a hard-fought battle filled with plenty of strikes. Borralho’s kicks seemed to get the better of Cannonier in the first round before the former title challenger found a groove with his punches in the second.
They were even in terms of striking numbers in the third, but “The Natural” managed to get “The Killa Gorilla” wobbly late in the frame. Cannonier battled back in the fourth round by delivering with his power, forming heavy damage around one of Borralho’s eyes.
The Brazilian managed to gain the fifth round, however, by dropping Cannonier with a one-two in the closing minutes and nearly scoring the finish.
“I caught him with some good jabs, and I think all these jabs hide my left hand, and when I (was) touching with my left hand, he felt (it) all the times,” Borralho told Megan Olivi for ESPN. “But he’s so durable, you know? He’s so tough. He’s been with the best in the world so many years. Crazy. He was in the UFC in 2015. That was the year of my last defeat, my second MMA fight.”
Caio Borralho Claims He Is A New Champ On The Rise
Borralho ventured his way into the UFC after a pair of wins over Aaron Jeffrey and Jesse Murray on Dana White’s Contender Series in 2021. Since then, “The Natural,” representing the Fighting Nerds team, has surged upward in momentum by defeating the likes of Paul Craig, Michał Oleksiejczuk, and Makhmud Muradov prior to Cannonier.
Now with bigger opportunities in his future, in addition to his callout of champion Dricus Du Plessis in the Octagon, Borralho is expecting to be placed in the top five of the middleweight ranking when they’re updated next week.
“I hope to see my name on Tuesday in the top five of this division,” Borralho said. “You know I’m coming for my belt. The mantra of this training camp was to show the new champ arrived. And I think everybody saw that (there is) a new champ on the rising [sic] – a guy that never gives up and (has) all skills.”
Read More: UFC Fight Night Results & Highlights: Caio Borralho Decisions Jared Cannonier
Continue Reading Caio Borralho Reveals ‘Mantra’ Of Training Camp For Jared Cannonier Win: ‘The New Champ Has Arrived’ at MMA News.
File under: Reddit.com/r/MMA | Leave a comment »